A StarNewsOnline Blog

The emporium for all things literary

“The Underground Railroad,” author Colson Whitehead’s fantastic evocation of African-American history, has won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, officials at Columbia University announced Monday. “The Underground Railroad” — which turns the famed conduit into a time-traveling subterranean train — had already won this year’s National Book Award. Whitehead, 47, is the author of such acclaimed novels as “The Intuitionist” and “Zone One.” Detroit-born poet Tyhehimba Jess received the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for his collection “Olio.” The Drama Pulitzer… Read More »

About This Blog

This is an emporium for all things literary: occasional book reviews, local book news, items about authors (mostly from the Cape Fear area but occasional visitors) and miscellaneous rants.

The usual author is Ben Steelman, feature writer and book columnist for the Star-News. He’s that shaggy, slightly smelly character you spot lurking in the back aisles of your local bookstore. Physically, he has more than a passing resemblance to Ignatius J. Reilly, hero of John Kennedy Toole’s “A Confederacy of Dunces” — some observers have noted other parallels as well.